HOLY SEE DELEGATE ADDRESSES U.N. FORUM ON ECOTOURISM

VATICAN CITY, MAY 22, 2002 (VIS) - Msgr. Piero Monni, Holy See permanent observer to the World Tourism Organization, late yesterday afternoon addressed the United Nations program for the environment, the World Summit on Ecotourism, which began May 19 and ends today in Quebec, Canada.

Msgr. Monni noted that, "in a rapidly evolving modern world, ... the tourism sector plays a considerable role. ... A sector that appears still fragile and changing, (tourism) represents today the third export industry at a world level. ... It is an industry which, instead of exporting merchandise, imports consumers." Yet, he admonished, "we cannot forget, as the Holy Father recently recalled, 'those tourism offers of 'artificial paradises', where, for merely commercial reasons, populations and local cultures are exploited to benefit a tourism that does not even respect the most elementary human rights of the local people'."

He said that, for the development of the "new type of tourism, ecotourism, ... it is indispensable to have as a reference point the central character of the human being, recalling the premier principle adopted by the Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development in 1992 according to which 'the human person is at the center of concerns for a lasting development'. Such an approach inevitably involves a revision and reorganization of operational systems that aim to obtain immediate economic and financial results to the detriment of a lasting ecotourism, which calls for preserving the common cultural patrimony."

Msgr. Monni pointed out that, in the specialized world of ecotourism, "the participation of local and indigenous communities in organizing, examining and administering tourism activities, as well as the decision processes linked to them, must be guaranteed. ... It would be interesting to evaluate the impact of ecotourism on the protection of the environment and on the socio-economic development of the local communities themselves."

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"EVERYONE MUST BE COMMITTED TO PEACE"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 22, 2002 (VIS) - At 9 a.m. today, the Pope departed from Fiumicino airport in Rome for Azerbaijan, and after traveling 3,111 kilometers in four hours, landed in the international airport of Baku, the capital. There he was welcomed by the president of the republic, Heydar Aliyev, political and civil authorities, three members of the Salesian community and senior members of the diplomatic corps.

After getting off the airplane, the Holy Father kissed the country's soil which two children offered him in a shallow receptacle, as is traditional when he visits a country for the first time.

At the beginning of his speech, the Holy Father recalled that this trip takes place during the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the Holy See.

After emphasizing the role of the great religions in the country that coexist in "a spirit of tolerance and mutual acceptance," he said: "I hope and pray to God that any remaining tensions will soon be overcome and that all will find peace in justice and truth."

"From this gateway of civilization which is Azerbaijan," he continued, "I address today a heartfelt appeal to those lands experiencing the upheavals of conflict. ... Everyone must be committed to peace. But it must be true peace, based on mutual respect, on the rejection of fundamentalism and every form of imperialism, on the pursuit of dialogue as the only effective means of resolving tensions, so that entire nations are saved from the cruelty of violence."

Religions, he went on, "should not be used as a tragic excuse for enmities which have their origin elsewhere. No one has the right to call upon God to justify their own selfish interests. ... I ask all religious leaders to reject all violence as offensive to the name of God and to be tireless promoters of peace and harmony, with respect for the rights of one and all."

John Paul II ended by addressing all Christians, and in particular the Catholic community of the country, assuring them that the "tragic difficulties" that they endured "during the time of communism will be compensated for by the Lord with the gift of lively faith, exemplary moral commitment and local vocations for pastoral and religious services."

After the welcoming ceremony, the Pope is scheduled to go to the Monument of the Fallen for the Independence of Azerbaijan. Later he will go to the presidential palace at Baku to pay a courtesy visit to the president of the republic and there he will meet with representatives of religions, politics, culture and art.

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A PAPAL "FIRST": JOHN PAUL II TO STAY IN HOTEL IN AZERBAIJAN

VATICAN CITY, MAY 22, 2002 (VIS) - Pope John Paul left this morning on a five-day pastoral visit to Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, the 96th foreign apostolic trip of his 23 and a half-year papacy.

Two "firsts" will mark the Pope's stay of 25 hours in Azerbaijan. For the first time ever he will stay in a hotel, the three-star Irshad Hotel in Baku, which will have a diplomatic statute for the duration of his stay. The Pope usually resides at the local bishop's residence, the apostolic nunciature or, on occasion, a seminary or monastery. However, there is no bishop in Azerbaijan, In fact, the Catholic populace of this predominantly Muslim country numbers only 120 faithful, the smallest ever number of Catholics in a country visited by a Roman Pontiff.

Azerbaijan occupies an area of 86,000 square kilometers and has a population of 7,558,000 of whom 1.7 million live in the capital of Baku. The official language is Azerbaijani, though Russian is also spoken. Shiite Muslims are 62 percent of the populace, Sunni Muslims 26 percent and Orthodox the remaining 12 percent.

Once part of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan gained its independence in 1991. It is the eighth former Soviet republic to be visited by John Paul II, following Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Armenia. It is the 24th country with a Muslim majority that the Pope has visited, but the first with a prevalently Shiite population.

According to an informational booklet on both Azerbaijan and Bulgaria prepared by Vatican Radio with statistics and historical background on the two countries, there is one ecclesiastical circumscription for the 120 Catholics in Azerbaijan - the "sui iuris" mission of Baku - one parish, two priests, one male Religious and three pastoral ministry workers.

Catholics in Azerbaijan were once a larger community, though always a discreet number, and were mostly linked to non-Azerbaijani ethnic groups, in particular of Polish origin. A beautiful Catholic basilica was erected in Baku in 1888 but Joseph Stalin ordered its destruction during the last century. During that difficult period Catholics turned to the Orthodox Church which generously assured them the sacraments. After the fall of communism, Catholics were under the care of the Apostolic Administration of the Caucasus of the Latins; they are now in the care of the Salesians.

The Catholic community is constituted of both local people, descendants of Catholic immigrants, who celebrate the liturgy in Russian, and the foreign community which uses English in its liturgy.

There are also communities of Lutherans, Baptists and Pentecostals.

Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti was appointed apostolic nuncio in Azerbaijan on December 13, 2001. He is also nuncio in Armenia and in Georgia. The superior of the "sui iuris" mission in Baku is Fr. Joseph Daniel Pravda, S.D.B.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 22, 2002 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Essen, Germany presented by Bishop Hubert Luthe, upon having reached the age limit.

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